Objective
Sex differences in intestinal plasticity
Males and females often differ in their physiology and disease susceptibility. Sex hormones play key roles in sculpting and maintaining such sex differences, but increasing evidence points to a contribution of cell-intrinsic mechanisms. We are only beginning to understand the molecular mediators of these intrinsic mechanisms, and little is known about the organs where they function and their effects at the whole-organism level.
Our work in flies recently revealed the existence of intrinsic sex differences in intestinal stem cell proliferation. This work raised the possibility that other, more metabolically significant intestinal cell types have their own sexual identity, with potential consequences at the organ and whole-organism levels. This proposal will explore the nature and significance of this sexual identity in two such cell types: enterocytes and neurons.
We will first take advantage of our ability to genetically manipulate and sexually transform these cells in Drosophila in order to understand how their sexual identity is specified and whether it needs to be actively maintained. We will then explore the contribution of such sexual identity to organ features and whole-body physiology. Finally, we will investigate the evolutionary conservation of our findings by establishing organoids as a model to investigate enterocyte physiology, and then use them to explore whether intrinsic mechanisms are also active in the mouse intestinal epithelium.
Collectively, our multidisciplinary approach will shed light on the contribution of the intestine - an organ not previously known to have an intrinsic sexual identity - to sex differences in physiology. It will also pioneer the study of enterocyte physiology in organoids: an emerging and extremely powerful ex vivo system. Our work will also lay the foundations for future interventions aimed at tackling sex biases in disease susceptibility/prognosis.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2017-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
SW7 2AZ London
United Kingdom
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